


Ternion

by Harlow R (harlowrd)



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-05
Updated: 2013-01-05
Packaged: 2017-11-23 16:42:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harlowrd/pseuds/Harlow%20R
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko realizes he'd rather be elsewhere.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ternion

**Author's Note:**

> Implied Zutara and Zutaraang. Posted for prompt #22, "Knight", at the avatar_500 community on LiveJournal.

Toph lay sprawled on his favorite armchair, dirty feet steadily soiling the delicate silk of the armrest. Zuko sighed softly, shaking his head. He hoped the servants would be able to do something about it later, but considered, not for the first time, retiring the chair to his private chambers, where its less than immaculate condition might not be paraded in front of every politician that visited his office.

"Tired?" Zuko asked, a smirk on his lips.

"You bet. I hate Twinkletoes' fighting style even more than I hate yours."

He chuckled. "Aang's a smart guy. He’s not going to earthbend at you, of all people."

Toph gave him a smug grin. "That's right, he'd _better_ be scared. I could wipe the floor with him." She sighed. "I just wish he wouldn't automatically resort to airbending. It's annoying."

"It's his element."

"They're all his elements."

They were quiet for a few minutes, Toph finishing her drink as Zuko watched the sky darken. When she spoke again, he jumped slightly. "You don't want them to go, do you." It wasn't a question.

"They have to. I can't keep them here forever."

"But you wish you could."

"But wishes don't always come true."

Toph fell quiet, and he wished she hadn't touched the subject. It had sent butterflies everywhere.

"Is it her?" Toph's voice was so gentle he almost hoped he had imagined it. He felt his heartbeat speed up tellingly. _Traitor,_ he thought.

He had been quiet for too long for it to be convincing, but he tried anyway. "Wh-who?"

Toph snorted. "I know you, Zuko."

Feeling reckless, Zuko waited a beat before spilling what she might already know. "It's them," he said. Toph hummed her understanding and for a second he thought of _them_ : of all the whispered conversations he'd had with _her_ about _him_ ; all the times he wished he could bury his face in her neck and forget the world like _he_ did; all the instances when _he_ had seemed so tiny and vulnerable and _she_ was fiercely protective and Zuko wanted to wrap his arms around them both and protect them with his life.

More than anyone – more than Sokka's casual acceptance, more than Toph's now constant presence in his life – _they_ were family for him. They represented redemption, the rise after his fall, and they were the anchors of the new him.

He wanted her, yes – in more ways than one; but not her alone, he realized with a shiver.

"This isn't where I belong," he said. Toph had gone very silent. "It's with them. Wherever. I need to be there. I _need_ to protect them."

Toph's steps were surprisingly light for an earthbender's, but he knew she was approaching. On her tiptoes, she reached up and undid his topknot, removing the gold crown as his hair spilled over his shoulders. She brushed it aside and placed a warm hand in its place, squeezing a bit too hard. Zuko sighed.


End file.
